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Read a Reckless summary with spoilers! Below is a recap of Reckless, the second book in The Powerless Trilogy by Lauren Roberts. If you’re looking for what happened in Reckless, then you are in the right place!

Special thanks to Erica for providing this Reckless summary! Check her out on Instagram at @itsneverthelastchapter or on her book blog or her personal blog.

Author
Lauren Roberts

Ratings
4.4 stars on Amazon
4.07 stars on Goodreads
Add Reckless at Goodreads

The Powerless Trilogy
#1 Powerless summary (recap)
#2 Reckless summary (this page)
#3 Fearless (synopsis) – Coming in April!
fearless by lauren roberts

***** Everything below is a SPOILER *****

What happened in Reckless?

A Reckless summary:

Paedyn is on the run after killing the King of Illya. Before escaping the city, she goes to her old home, which also serves as the headquarters for the Resistance (a rebel group made of Ordinaries and the lesser Elites). She is bloodied and bruised as she looks through the floorboards for weapons. She finds her father’s journal, a bow and arrow, and throwing knives – which she packs quickly for her journey. When she hears footsteps outside, she rushes to hide in the chimney. Kai, now officially the Enforcer, searches for her with his Imperials. When she is not found, they leave. Kai, thinking he’s alone, wonders aloud with concern about Pae. Then, he burns her house to the ground.

Just as they are leaving, his Imperials notice her running on the roof, escaping them. Kai throws a knife at her, slashing her leg. But they are unable to catch up. Pae makes it out of Illya, trudging through the Scorches (a desert) on her way to Dor.

Back in the Palace, Kitt, now the King, questions Kai’s loyalties. Kai returns the Enforcer’s ring bestowed on him during his appointment and tells Kitt to hand it back when he captures Paedyn.

It takes Paedyn days to cross the desert. But at the border, an Imperial recognizes her. He tries to kill her, revealing that there’s a price on her head. She is wanted dead or alive by the king. Pae fights back, killing the Imperial. Kai and his guards reach Dor shortly after Pae does. Noticing the dead, decaying body at the border, he is sure he’s found her.

Pae finds it challenging to blend in despite being surrounded by Ordinaries. Her hair makes her stand out, and numerous Wanted posters with her face are plastered on the city walls. She feels guilty for robbing hard-working people, unlike how she felt in the slums of Illya. One evening, she follows two men, attempting to rob them, but discovers a hidden fighting club instead. She takes her chance and volunteers to fight. To conceal her identity, she wraps a scarf over her head and face – a common way to dress here in the city – and calls herself Shadow. 

Kai is immediately unwelcomed by the city folk. They are hesitant to fight him but unafraid. He splits from his men in an attempt to blend better. When he feels someone reaching for his pouch of coins, he suspects it’s Pae. But to his surprise, it’s a small girl he pardoned when he was ordered by his father to kill her in Illya. He follows her into the underground fight club. When he watches Shadow fight, he immediately knows that it’s Pae.

After defeating the local favorite, Pae rushes to collect her win from Rafael, the club owner. Rafael grows fond of Pae, given that she’s been winning every fight this past week. She is shocked and nervous when Kai challenges her to a fight. He calls himself Flame. She agrees and then quickly escapes to a rooftop. Kai follows her, desperate not to lose her again. When they come face to face, Pae makes a bet with him that if she wins the fight, he must let her go. But if she loses, she will go back with him to Illya. 

During the fight, when Pae feels like she’s backed into a corner, she pulls off Kai’s scarf, revealing to everyone who he is. Kai mirrors her actions and shows everyone that she is the Silver Savior with a price on her head. To escape unscathed, she agrees to go with Kai. 

Once they are on the dark streets again, Pae fights Kai and reveals that he killed her father. Kai manages to capture her again, and they spend the night in a hotel. He confesses that her father was only one of the many missions the King would assign him as part of his training. She refuses to believe that he didn’t know who he was killing and why.

The next day, Kai and his Imperials start their journey across the Scorches to Illya. But at night, they are ambushed by Pae’s friends from the Resistance. They inform her that the Resistance doesn’t exist anymore, and many died during the showdown in the Bowl on the day of the final Trial. They take Kai as their prisoner to barter him for Pae’s freedom and start the journey back to Dor.

When they reach, Lenny, a former Imperial, introduces his family to them and the Mixes. Mixes are the offspring of Elites and Ordinaries. Mixes have half or a quarter of the power Elites hold. Kai tries but fails to channel their power because it’s too weak. After they fall asleep, Kai and Pae suddenly wake up bound back-to-back. Rafael, the fight club owner, tells them they both are worth too much to lose.

Kai and Paedyn find a way to escape through the sewers. After a close call with death, they make it out on the streets. Paedyn is furious when she notices that Kai has chained her ankle to his. They sneak into a hotel for the night, where Kai apologizes to her again for killing her father and informs her that they will go through the Sanctuary of Souls instead of the desert. He also tells her about Ava, his sister, who the King buried on the palace grounds to prevent people from seeing the royal family as weak.

When they leave the hotel, they encounter a group of men who recognize Pae from the Wanted poster. To avoid getting captured again, they slip into a gambling den that also serves as a place for men to spend time with women. To blend in, Kai joins a table and pulls Pae in his lap. They are forced to play the part of romantics again. When the men looking for them are distracted, Kai and Pae slip out. They find a barn on the outskirts of the Sanctuary of Souls and spend the night there.

The next morning, Kai steals a horse from the barn, but the stable manager comes in, and a fight ensues. However, they escape, and only later Pae notices Kai’s knife wound. In the forest, they collect discarded arrows and a bow to add to their arsenal. Pae discovers a clear pool, and they decide to refresh. They decide to enjoy the moment and pretend like they are not Enforcer and Prisoner. When they feel things getting too intense again, Pae deflects, and they decide to get on their way. But due to the thunderstorm, the horse has run away. Kai and Pae take shelter under a rock. She uses pages from her father’s journal to start a fire. That’s when they discover another secret log of his pursuit to build the resistance. She learns that she was abandoned as a baby at her father’s doorstep, shattering the reality she always knew. They also read about how the king bribed Healers to live in the palace far away from the slums. Kai is astonished when he reads a log that confirms that Ordinaries are not diseased, just like Pae has always believed. He decides to show Kitt the journal when they return to the palace.

Back in the palace, Kitt is afraid he is going crazy. He locks himself in his father’s study and avoids meeting anybody. He can hear the guards and maids whispering but cannot stop them. After sending Kai on his mission to capture Pae, Kitt writes letter after letter all day but never sends them. Calum, the leader of the Resistance Pae’s father had started, acts as his advisor. Kai and Pae are not aware that Calum is even alive. Calum hands him a box of something and assures him that everything will be alright if he does as told. But Kitt is hesitant. One day he musters the courage to step outside the study. He is hyperaware of everyone watching him. Gail, the head chef, catches him slipping away and pulls him into the kitchen. While talking, Kitt realizes that he missed Ava’s birthday, which Kai and he spent every year paying respects at the place where she’s buried. He also wonders aloud if Kai has decided not to return with Pae. When Gail doesn’t respond, Kitt is convinced he’s not wrong to have these doubts and secludes himself.

How did Reckless end? – Reckless Summary

In the Sanctuary of Souls, Pae notices Kai bleeding from an arrow wound one of the bandits caused. She quickly begins tending to him with whatever they have left. To distract herself, she asks him to tell her a truth. He confesses that he’s envious that she was the one who got to kill his father and not him. Pae is shocked but understands his feelings. The blood from his wound makes her anxious, and he is quick to understand why. She asks Kai to cut her braid, which holds the weight of losing everyone she’s ever loved.

The next morning, they make their way to the fields on the edge of the city. They spend two days among the poppy flowers, where Kai confesses his love for Paedyn. She doesn’t confess her feelings out of fear of losing yet another person she loves. When they’re lying next to each other in the field, Kai notices the brand his father left on her heart. He is furious and feels guilty for dragging her now back to Kitt. He asks her to run away while trying to cut through the chains around her ankle with a dagger. But she refuses to leave him. Suddenly, the Imperials are too close. Kai and Pae pretend they are Enforcer and Prisoner again. She is captured, handcuffed, and paraded through the city. When Kai presents Paedyn to Kitt, Kitt questions her about her crimes, and she confesses to all of them with her head held high. In response, Kitt orders her to marry him.

There you go! There’s your Reckless summary.

Special thanks to Erica for providing this Reckless summary! Check her out on Instagram at @itsneverthelastchapter or on her book blog or her personal blog.

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